Author's Notes: Alright, after a bit of a delay, I've finally got this chapter up!

I was interested in the massive response to last chapter, even if it was expected to some degree. I noticed a lot of people are commenting on Luna's behaviour, and the irrationality of it. I won't say much, but there is a point to it, and remember that, when put in the spotlight like Luna was, the mind can, and often will make irrational connections...remember that Luna is a social outcast, and unfamiliar with modern concepts regarding relationships and the like. As such, while she continues to adjust to modern life, she may have moments of irrational and downright insane behaviour.

I'm not saying Luna's response to Starfall's admission was fair, I'm just trying to explain why is shouldn't be considered outside the realm of possibilities for her character. Hopefully the next few chapters help clear a bit of that up.

Speaking of which, I've done something a little different with this chapter, with the inclusion of a song, that will more than likely make a reappearance a couple more times. I may or may not expand upon my usage of songs later in the story if you readers show signs of liking it. If the response is less than impressed, I'll probably find other things to twist up the story, so any response to it would be much appreciated!

Speaking of which, once more I must thank everyone who has reviewed! Princess Luna of the Night has once more pointed out some interesting flaws which I still working on improving, and also for requesting the inclusion of Fancy Pants and Sapphire Shores. Once again, I'll see what I can do, but no promises! And a big thank you to all those who have faved and alerted this story, as well. The way this story has rapidly gained so much attention has boggled my mind!

And finally, a huge thank you to "DiamondGirl400" as always for beta-reading this chapter, and without further ado, I give you the next chapter!

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Chapter 17

Fallen Star

As it was, Starfall barely made it into Twilight's old tower before his despair boiled over, leaving him sobbing quietly as he collapsed onto the nearest couch, unable to find anything positive to take from this disaster of a night.

Princess Luna had discovered his crush on her, reacted a million times worse than he could ever have conceived her doing, and not only destroyed the tentative friendship they had formed in the last couple of months, but also been banished from her lessons, and from ever setting hoof in the Royal District ever again.

Starfall idly thought that he should be relieved he was still alive, and had not been arrested, but he figured it would not make much different in any case. Without these lessons, his life was all-but over as it was. Aside from this tower, he had no home to go to...he had been forced to sell off his old home he had lived in before coming to Canterlot, but it had been a decrepit old thing that, while it had sold, had only given him just enough to pay off the loan he had outstanding on it, leaving him without any money to his name, relying on the allowance he was getting from his studies just to keep himself afloat.

Now, his studies, and his income, were both gone, and he knew he had barely enough money to last a month, and he doubted he had much chance of getting even a half-decent job within that time. Pegusi were generally hired because their wings allowed them to do something other ponies could not do, but Starfall's wings were well below average strength for his kind. The pitiful excuse for a job he had toiled through before coming to Canterlot had been a stroke of luck, and he doubted that place would hire him again...even if he could even make the trip back to the distance cloud town without running out of money first.

At least, if he had been arrested and sentenced to the dungeons, he would have at least had rudimentary food and other necessities provided for him for the duration of his term...in his current situation, he had to pick himself up, and fast, despite having no real skills to offer to Canterlot. The city was a hub full of high-class unicorns. A common pegasus like him had little chance of being noticed. Especially a young one with less life experience than well over three-quarters of the city's population.

But his uncertain future was not what hurt the most. His future had been uncertain basically since he had come of age. What he really cut him deep was the fact that he had probably lost the small friendship circle he had developed since starting his tutelage under Princess Luna. Luna herself clearly did not want anything more to him. Twilight, who he considered a friend of sorts, was close with the Princesses, and once she got word of what had happened, she would be quick to sever ties with him as well. That only really left the cross-eyed mare, Derpy Hooves, who Starfall still had not seen since that day at the mall, and they had only exchanged a couple of letters in that time.

No, Starfall could see it already. This one, stupid event, his inability to keep his head around the Princess of the Night, was likely going to rob him of everything he held dear in his life at that moment. And he had no idea what he could do to salvage the situation any more, so for the moment, he just lay on the couch and cried himself out, allowing himself a chance to vent his emotions in private.

The worst part for him was that he had never actually intended to chase anything with the Princess. He knew his crush was just that, and that Luna would never, in a thousand years, return the feelings. But his heart had refused to let the matter drop, and in chasing that one, impossible dream, it had cause him to instead lose everything he held dear. It was completely and totally unfair, and yet that last thought did not bother Starfall as much as it should have. His life had not seemed in any way fair for a very long time, and he had stopped getting angry about it and simply accepted it as his lot in life some time ago.

But as Starfall finally reduced his sobs to shaky sniffles, finally gaining control of himself, fate seemed intent on taunting him of what he had lost one last time, as a radio in the corner, which he had accidentally left on earlier that day, started playing the last song Starfall wanted to hear at that time...

You light...the skies,
Up above me.
A star...so bright...
You blind me, yeah...

Don't close...your eyes,
Don't fade away, don't away,
Ohhhh!

Yeah, you and me,
We can ride on a star!
If you stay with me, girl,
We can Rule the World!

You you and me,
We can light up...

The song snapped out of existance halfway through the chorus as Starfall, in a brief fit of rage, threw an apple sitting in a bowl next to the couch at the radio, scoring a direct hit on the system's lone speaker, breaking the entire radio system for good. Huffing in annoyance at that romantic song being played right as he was dealing with the emotional loss of his crush, he rolled over, trying to calm himself down.

It had been a long, long time since his anger had gotten the best of him like that. But in the end, his fuse had been cut too short by the days events, and the way the song actually seemed to relate to himself and Luna, with it's references to the stars and the night sky, was too much.

A few seconds later, having calmed himself down, he regretted his burst of anger, dragging himself back onto his hooves, and heading over to the broken remains of the radio, which had toppled onto the floor with the force of the impact it had suffered. The apple also lay nearby, scratched and bruised from smashing the radio's speaker.

Sighing, Starfall picked the pieces of the sound system up, along with the damaged apple, and dumped them both into the bin. That radio had originally been Twilight's, not his, and technically still belonged to her. He would have to go out and buy a new one to make up for it, now...as if he did not have enough to worry about as it was.

Lacking the energy to do anything more, Starfall simply dragged himself to his bedroom, clambering dejectedly under the deep purple blankets, taking a few shaky breaths as he pulled the blanket up over him, memories of the even still fresh and raw.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled to himself, just wishing he could take the whole night back. That he had never fallen for Luna in the first place, that she had never found out about it, that he could have found some way to calm her down. Despite his crush, he had never intended on pursuing anything with her. He knew it was impossible, with Luna as the Princess of the Night, for him to be anything more than a simple friend. If she did eventually marry, it would be to someone of high stature in Canterlot, most likely. It was how things worked, loathe as he was to admit it.

In the end, though, as Starfall settled himself down enough to let sleep take him away from his pain, he eventually found two positive things he could from this day, two tiny silver linings in the inky black cloud his life had just become.

The first was that this evening had likely just destroyed the worst of his crush. With no hope that Princess Luna would ever return his feelings, his shattered heart would need time to pick up the pieces and find another mare, meaning his crush should not bother him any more.

The second was a gloomy, pessimistic way of looking at the situation...but then that was Starfall's speciality. Simply put, Starfall could not conceive how his situation could possibly get any worse. Even if Luna chased him down in the morning, seeking to arrest him and hurl him in the dungeon for the rest of his life, Starfall had a hard time seeing how that could be any worse than the immense struggle he was going to have just to survive from now on.

It was with these gloomy thoughts that Starfall was finally able to let himself sleep...gloomy as they were, these two little positives were all that was going to keep him going in the near future, he was sure of it.